This disclosure relates generally to hunting arrows, and more particularly, but not necessarily entirely, to a hunting arrow having a transmitter, located either on or within the arrow to enable a bow hunter to locate the arrow after a missed shot, or the wounded animal after a successful shot independent of the ultimate location of the arrow itself.
The bow hunting of big game animals is a popular sport, particularly in the United States. White-tailed deer, mule deer, elk, antelope and bear are only a few of the species currently being hunted. State-of-the-art hunting arrows are typically made of fiberglass, aluminum, carbon reinforced plastic or composite materials and are provided with a removable and interchangeable tip, or “broadhead.” The type, size, weight, etc., of a broadhead may be changed depending upon the animal being hunted, the weather conditions, the terrain, etc. Such arrows are quite expensive, typically ranging in price from $10.00 to $50.00 apiece.
Two distinct problems are common with bow hunters: (1) locating the arrow resulting from a missed shot and (2) locating the injured animal (if an immediate kill is not made) resulting from a successful shot. Even the best of hunters miss their target about 20-25% of the time and less experienced hunters even more. When shooting from a range of 50-100 yards, it is not uncommon to lose the arrows resulting from errant shots. A typical hunter may lose 10-20 arrows per year, resulting in substantial financial loss and frustration. Even more importantly, however, the loss of game resulting from successful shots is significant. While it is possible to drop a smaller animal immediately with a well-placed shot, larger animals such as deer, elk, bear, etc., are seldom instantly killed by an arrow. Whether the arrow passes completely through the animal or remains imbedded therein, the animal may continue to run from a few hundred yards up to many miles before either dying or resting, often evading the best tracking efforts of the hunter. This results in the loss of many wounded animals, which is a great disappointment to the hunter, as well as a waste of natural resources.
Hunting arrows have been developed which contain transmitters, enabling the bow hunter with a receiving unit to locate either the arrow after an errant shot, or the quarry after a successful shot, presuming the arrow remains imbedded in the quarry. However, while these arrows have addressed the problem of errant shots and successful shots, where the arrow remains imbedded in the quarry, in a significant number of cases of successful shots in relatively smaller animals (such as white-tail deer) the arrow passes completely through the animal, severely injuring but not necessarily immediately incapacitating it. Moreover, imbedded arrows are usually broken off against trees, rocks, etc., or even pulled out by the injured animal. In such cases the animal may run a substantial distance before dying, making it quite difficult to find, if one of these previously available arrows is utilized.
Hunting arrows have also been developed which contain transmitters which can separate from the arrow and attach themselves to the quarry to avoid some of the problems discussed above. Typically, these transmitters are expensive, but their cost can be offset by reusing the transmitters multiple times. However, certain components associated with these detachable transmitters are prone to breakage rendering these expensive transmitters useless and a financial loss.
Another serious problem that must be considered when adding extra weight to an arrow, (such as a transmitter, etc.), is how the extra weight affects the performance of the arrow. In general, it is desirable to add the least amount of weight to the arrow to maintain the performance of the arrow. For example, a heavy arrow will travel slower than a lighter arrow and tend to “drop” more quickly over a given distance as compared to the lighter arrow. Thus, a lightweight transmitter assembly, and lightweight structures associated with the transmitter, is highly desirable to help maintain the performance of the arrow.
The previously available devices are thus characterized by several disadvantages that are addressed by the disclosure. The disclosure minimizes, and in some aspects eliminates, the above-mentioned failures, and other problems, by utilizing the methods and structural features described herein. For example, the detachable transmitter assembly disclosed herein significantly reduces the loss of wounded animals by allowing the hunter to track and locate the wounded animal. This allows the hunter to hunt more efficiently and thereby reduces the waste of natural resources.
The features and advantages of the disclosure will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by the practice of the disclosure without undue experimentation. The features and advantages of the disclosure may be realized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out herein.